June 17

QUITO June 17, 2007 10pm

The team is almost complete. We are waiting for one last student to arrive.
We are staying at a lovely hostal that the hospital Tierra Nueva is partnered with. A bland high cement wall with a steel gate doesn’t give hint to the oasis that lies behind. A beautiful central building that doubles as the cafeteria, meeting rooms and church overlooks 4 buildings that are the dormitories.

We are in a very poor section of the city, so we have not wondered outside the commune tonight. There is another group of students from the Timmy Foundation staying here as well. One of their leaders offered to show us around tomorrow evening, if time allows.

The students all come from varying degrees of experience. I hope that they will each leave this experience a little bit enlightened and challenged. As for me, it’s hard to believe this is my third trip to Ecuador in 13 months. I am hoping that I have been a better planner and packer this time. The last two missions, we fell short on supplies (especially medications) and needed to scramble at night to ‘restock’ from local vendors.